When is energy cheaper?

Published on 15 November 2017

The price of electricity depends on many factors. For a half of Spaniards, it is normally cheaper when there is less demand. But for the other half, what counts is what is on their contract. With Endesa it only depends on you: energy will be free when you decide.

An energy bill can appear complicated at first glance and it is normal to ask yourself: Why am I paying for this?

We are now going to talk about an important part of your bill: consumption. To understand other concepts or the whole bill we recommend these contents in which we explain it quickly and easily.

The consumption on your bill is the energy you use and it is measured in kWh. What you pay is the result of multiplying the number of kWh that you have consumed by the price per kWh. But, what is the price per kWh?

The answer is: it depends. In Spain there are two main ways of contracting electricity: the free market or the regulated market. Approximately half of homes are under the free market and the other half under the regulated market. You are always free to choose under which you would like to be.

To answer the question “when is energy cheaper?”, it is important to know which market you are under:

Free: Each kWh costs what is stated on you contract

Regulated: the price changes per hour according to the offer and the demand

Under the free market energy costs what is stated on your contract. Under the regulated market, the price changes per hour

The roller-coaster of the regulated market

The regulated market is called this because its conditions are regulated by the Government, it has one tariff, which can be contracted with or without time restriction.

The price per kWh under the regulated market (VPSC) changes each hour of the day. It increases or decreases according to several factors, fundamentally:

The available energy: here the climate plays a crucial role. If the wind blows above 14km/h the triple helix wind turbines will generate a lot of energy, if it rains hydroelectric plants will produce more, etc.

Energy demand: on a domestic level, during the day it will increase when people are usually at home and will decrease when they go to work or to sleep. During the year, the climate also has an influence: in winter to heat up your surroundings, and in summer to cool them.

The result is that, if you are under the regulated market, the price of energy will be going up and down throughout the year. At Endesa we have this tool for you to consult how much a kWh costs at any moment. It is usually lower during the nights and at weekends. But nobody can save you from a roller-coaster that, last year increased by 14%.

Regulated market with or without smart meter

The regulated tariff (VPSC) can apply to you in two ways, depending on whether you have a smart meter or not yet.

With a smart meter: it is possible to know how many kWh you use per hour, and so the price per kWh every hour is multiplied by the consumption of kWh each hour.

Without a smart meter: it is not possible to know how many kWh you are using each hour, so an average consumption profile is applied to you, created by the Spanish Electricity Grid (Red Eléctrica de España – REE). It does not matter at what time you are turning on the washing machine or the oven, because on you bill what will matter is the time the average Spaniard is turning it on. In 2019 all meters will be smart meters and the average profile system will disappear.

The freedom to decide everything yourself

Nobody is obliging anybody. It is not obligatory to be under the regulated market and to have to accept price fluctuations that escape your control. You don’t have to be treated like a citizen X instead of the special individual you really are.

At Endesa we want you to choose and we don’t want you to become a mathematical average. We want to know if you turn on the washing machine in the morning... or if you never put it on because you want to do it all on Sunday. We want to know if you are at home a lot, hardly ever, or never. If you turn on the oven every dinner time or only on Friday when your friends come over.

Everything you do designs a unique consumption profile that we share with you at all times: if you are an Endesa customer you just have to enter your Private Area to see how many kWH you have consumed in each hour of every day, throughout the year.

Now that you know how you consume, you want to know that you can decide the price:

With the Tempo Happy Tariff: to take advantage of your characteristics, a tariff adapted to you. You choose 2 hours per day (or one whole day per week) in which all of the kWh you use are free. More information here.

With the One Luz Tariff: if you do not want to make life complicated and you are only looking for a price that remains the same and is very cheap. So cheap that we don’t even mention discounts, because they aren’t necessary. More information here.

Rain or shine, whether the wind blows or not, forget any surprises.

You can decide what price you pay for energy. Don’t let them force you

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